This Is The Black History They Don't Teach You In School

#HistoricPOC

This February, there's a new Black History to explore. It's made up of the pieces of our past that are unlikely to be found in a textbook.

Thanks to writer and social activist Mikki Kendall, people are celebrating Black History Month by using social media as a platform to share their own black histories. They're posting under the hashtag #HistoricPOC (the acronym for people of color), thereby building a digital archive of history — a more complete version than most people are used to studying. Kendall took to Twitter to announce her game plan.

I'm asking Tumblr to participate in #HistoricPOC & post images of POC in day to day life to refute the white washed myths of history.

Kendall, who has the remarkable ability to give like-minded social media users a voice and an outlet, hopes that this hashtag will be used to present history in a unique and more accurate way. This new historical archive will challenge the philosophy that there is one, universal account of American history.

"I really think that this is a time to learn about more than the five people we mostly hear about in this month," Kendall told A+. "People may know the major historical figures, but they don't know the world they lived in. The fabric of their communities."

According to Kendall, racial representation in the media is one of the reasons for America's distorted perception of history.

"Movies and television make it seem like people of color weren't present, but that's not how segregation worked," Kendall said. "There was no such thing as an all white world."

The pictures prove that very point. This hashtag isn't rewriting history, but it is certainly revamping it. As you scroll through the images, you'll see history come to life. You'll also see how these people made a difference in the world in ways that were never celebrated — until now.

These photographs illustrate history in a pretty remarkable way. But perhaps the most remarkable thing about this is the fact that Kendall is making her own difference in the world, and painting a new picture of history.